Computers should not be black boxes but rather understood as engines for creating powerful and persuasive models of the world around us. The world around us (and inside us) is something we in the humanities have been interested in for a very long time.
Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. “Hello Worlds.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 January 2009, https://www.chronicle.com/article/hello-worlds/.
There is a very interesting debate happening within the Digital Humanities community over whether humanities students should learn to code or not. Scholars such as Matthew G. Kirschenbaum argue that coding fosters critical thinking skills in a world that is becoming more and more technologically advanced. On the other hand, individuals like Evan Donahue believe that learning to program is not a requirement to engage with the computer sciences. While both sides have strong arguments, I believe that all humanities students should have a basic understanding of coding.
No matter what field you are in, having a surface-level knowledge of coding is extremely beneficial because it strengthens problem-solving skills and allows for greater cross-discipline communication. For example, an artist might think they don’t need coding skills, but if they ever decided to start a website to share their work, basic programming skills would make it a lot easier. Even if the artist chooses to pay someone to make the website for them, knowing some coding would help the artist understand what is possible. Another way I can imagine coding to be beneficial for someone in the humanities is 3D modeling. A historian studying ancient worlds could model what life was like thousands of years ago using computer technology. Kirshenbaum states, “Computers should not be black boxes but rather understood as engines for creating powerful and persuasive models of the world around us. The world around us (and inside us) is something we in the humanities have been interested in for a very long time” (Kirschenbaum). With so many opportunities to create great things with coding, it would be a disservice not to recognize the possibilities.
My prior coding experience is minimal. I have a very basic understanding of RStudio from a statistics course but that is it. As someone who would like to learn, resources such as HTML Dog are a great help. I completed a few tutorials on their website and in a short amount of time, I was able to get a general understanding of HTML and JavaScript. Experimenting with programming can feel like a very daunting task, but simple tutorials can help one learn how the technology we use every day works. I have attached a code sample I made using HTML Dog’s HTML Beginner Tutorial.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My first web page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My first webpage</h1>
<h2>What this is</h2>
<p>A simple page put together using HTML<p>
<h2>Why this is</h2>
<ul>
<li>To learn HTML</li>
<li>To show off
<ol>
<li>To my friends</li>
<li>To my cat
<li>To my grandma</li>
</ol>
<li>Because I love my computer</li>
</ul>
<h2>Where to find the tutorial</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.htmldog.com">HTML Dog</a></p>
<textarea rows="5" cols="20">A big load of text</textarea>
<p>Name:</p>
<p><input type="text" name="name" value="Your name"></p>
<p><input type="submit"></p>
</body>
</html>2 thoughts on “Lab Assignment – Week 2”
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I agree with your position on learning to code. Also, the quotes you choose worked very well with your argument. Looking at your code snippet its good to see that you experimented with many different elements (tags). I feel as though many people who start out learning a language, especially as beginners, try to move too fast. Its good to see you spent some time to use many different elements which will help you out in the long run!
Hi Lydia, I like how you brought up the possibility of hiring someone to create a website for you. While it has definitely been done before, as an artist, not having that creative freedom can be challenging sometimes. Hiring a professional would be very expensive and their final work may not be what I imagined. Learning to code can definitely solve these issues and allow for room to create other projects without paying a big sum.